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The Los Angeles Dodgers will have Freddie Freeman back in the starting lineup in Game 5 of their National League Divisional Series against the San Diego Padres, per ESPN's Blake Harris. Freeman did not play in Game 4. He initially sustained an ankle sprain when trying to run out an infield single against the Padres on September 26. The Dodgers clinched the National League West in that game.
Freeman played through pain in the series' first three games but was a late scratch in Game 4. Los Angeles won that game 8-0 to avoid elimination.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the start in Game 5 for the Dodgers. He struggled in Game 1, allowing five runs and walking two batters in three innings.
Dodgers need pitching to step up in deadlocked series
The Dodgers' pitching has been all over the place. In Game 3, Walker Buehler pitched five innings and allowed seven hits and six earned runs. All six runs came in the second inning, punctuated with a Fernando Tatis Jr. two-run home run.
In Game 2, RHP Jack Flaherty allowed five hits and four earned runs in 5.1 IP. The bullpen was also tagged, allowing eight hits, four home runs and six earned runs across 3.2 IP.
The Dodgers' veiled attempts at gamesmanship, like the late-scratch of Freeman or late announcement of their Game 5 starter, fall on the deaf ears of Padres manager Mike Shildt, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“Everybody operates their own club the way they operate it. We're more like Vince Lombardi, power sweep, here it is. Yu Darvish is going to start, here's our lineup.”
In case it's unclear, Shildt means he believes a team must simply execute the game plan. Even if the opponent knows what's coming, they still have to stop it.
The Dodgers were blessed in Game 4 to force Padres' ace Dylan Cease out after just five outs. He allowed four hits and three earned runs in 1.2 IP, which fit perfectly with Los Angeles' bullpen start.
Yamamoto will have to show up against the Padres. In six innings against San Diego, he's allowed eight hits, eight earned runs, a 12.00 ERA and a .333 OBA. San Diego will start Yu Darvish, who has been near lights-out against the Dodgers this season. Across 15.2 innings, Darvish has allowed just eight hits, three earned runs and struck out 12, allowing just a .143 OBA.
